


Kneazles, A Train, and a Sorting Hat

by ladyroxanne21



Series: Growing Up Potter [15]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Diagon Alley, Hogwarts Express, M/M, Sorting Hat - Freeform, Sunshine - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-07-29 21:43:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7700824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyroxanne21/pseuds/ladyroxanne21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The twelve Potter kids receive their Hogwarts letters, which sparks a shopping trip. Later on, they board that famous train and get sorted into their houses.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kneazles, A Train, and a Sorting Hat

Breakfast was as loud as ever. A quiet fell only because Luna was softly talking about her and Rolf's next planned Magizoology excursion and it strangely interested almost everyone. She was currently about 5 months pregnant with those twins she'd long insisted she was going to have someday.

Suddenly, there came a pecking at the sliding glass door. Harry absently waved his hand to magic the door open and let in the owl. To everyone's surprise, a whole fleet of owls flew in the door. Each carried an iconic letter – which was dropped into the hands of twelve stunned children (and one grinning Teddy).

“Our Hogwarts letters...” Rose breathed out in awe. She wasn't the only one with shaky hands as she opened it.

Highly unexpectedly, Pansy burst out crying. She buried her face into Hermione's shoulder, and Hermione did her best to hold back tears as she consoled her longtime lover. Ron was sitting next to them and looked a bit uncomfortable as he tried to stroke both their backs.

Harry and Draco were clutching each other's hands tightly under the table. Draco looked paler than usual and Harry was biting his lip. A look around showed that most of the adults in the room looked ready to cry.

“Mum... Why are you crying?” Pearl asked in concern.

“Young! Hogwarts!” Pansy tried to explain between sobs.

Luna hummed serenely. “I suspect that your mum is a bit overwhelmed by the thought of you leaving for Hogwarts in a month.”

“But she _knew_ this was going to happen!” Pearl protested. “Just like Teddy started going last year!”

“Hogwarts is wonderful!” Teddy burst out with a happy sigh.

“He's lucky that Daisy's not here yet to hear him say that,” Sai mumbled to his half sister, half cousin Indira.

Indira snorted. “Yeah, she's been _impossible_ to deal with ever since he boarded the train last year.”

Pandora leaned over to whisper conspiratorially. “Cheer up, in another month, we won't have to listen to her whinge anymore.”

“Poor Daisy...” Sai murmured sympathetically. The dodecuplets all took a moment to think about what it would be like for someone to go from having all their friends around everyday to being all alone, except for the younger kids.

Hermione cleared her throat. “Well. We should probably – since we all have the day off work – we should probably take the kids to Diagon Alley to buy their school supplies.”

“Well this should be fun,” Draco murmured sarcastically.

 

***

 

“Listen up!” Pansy roared, her eyes still a bit red from her earlier crying session. “Even though it would probably be _vastly_ easier for us to split up and shop separately, we're going to do this all together! That means that you will _all behave_ or I will personally cast silencing charms on the lot of you and Incarcerous each of you to your mum!”

“Yes Pansy (yes mum),” the kids all grumbled.

The younger kids were being left with Andromeda, and since it was a weekend, Dudley, Donna, and Daisy hadn't come over yet. They may or may not by dinner time. It would depend on things like if they had made plans to go see a movie as a family.

“Why are we doing this all together?” Harry asked nervously.

Pansy sighed and put her hands on her hips. “Because even if we separated, everyone in each of the shops we visited would stop and watch us as we shopped to whisper and gossip about us. Which means that _all_ of Diagon Alley would come to a complete stand still on one of their busiest days. This way, we pass from shop to shop like a parade, that shop is run ragged for a few minutes, and then we move on.”

“Oh... makes sense,” Harry muttered.

Pansy smirked at him triumphantly. “Of course it does.” She then directed them all to the Apparition point that tended to be the least busy most of the time.

Once there, most of them stayed there – which was hidden from general view – while Harry and Draco made a quick trip to Gringott's to make a large withdrawal.

“Merlin, Godric, and Dumbledore!” Harry muttered under his breath. “It's a good thing that the Potter and Black fortunes were so big. I'd have gone broke a long time ago otherwise.”

Draco chuckled at him. After they'd gotten married, he'd directed all of his personal income from various investments into Harry's vaults. Thus, they really didn't have to worry about running out of money ever. That said, caring for such a large family was expensive!

As always, Harry Potter was given preferential treatment. Thus, they were back with their family about 20 minutes later. And then the parade began. Starting with Ollivander's.

One might think that poor elderly Ollivander might be overwhelmed by all the Potter kids. Instead, he seemed close to his idea of heaven. The trickier it was to find the right wand, the more he seemed to love it. And all the while, he spouted information on each and every one of the adults' wands in comparison to the ones the kids got.

By the time they were done, the excitement was so thick that it could be cut with the Sword of Gryffindor!

Harry muttered to himself once more as he watched the kids all try to be covert as they shot sparks at each other. “Tell me again why we had to start with _wands_...”

Next up was Madam Malkin's. Thankfully, Madam Malkin was one smart cookie. She had heard that the Potter family was out shopping and had tea and biscuits ready when they arrived. She had also served all previous patrons as quickly as possible and turned away anyone else who tried to enter the shop at that precise moment.

Thanks to her, the Potter kids were fitted in what had to be record time. This made Harry so grateful that he was tempted to hug her! So far, this was the least stressful part of their day.

Next came luggage. Then quills. Then text books from Flourish and Blotts. This was rather interesting because Hermione, Padma, Draco, and Pansy all _insisted_ that the kids be allowed to get any other book they wanted because _reading_. So the kids practically bought the store out!

“I'm not sure I withdrew enough money,” Harry grumbled. He'd had Hermione estimate the cost of all the supplies, and then doubled that figure and added about 20 percent more just for good measure. However, it now seemed like the books might have just eaten up most of his cushion.

Moving on, they got everything on their list. Ending with: “Merlin's raucous snoring!” Harry cried out in dismay. “Isn't our house loud enough as it is?!”

The kids raided the Magical Menagerie and bought out just about every kneazle they had. Except for James who – for some reason – preferred a snowy owl from Eeylops instead. And Lily, who bought a strikingly white, tan, and gold Ball Python.

Harry was hesitant at first to let her have a snake – not because he had anything against snakes – but because he was worried about what the rest of the students at Hogwarts might say. How they might pick on her. But she refused to take no for an answer.

“Her name is Sunshine and we're _meant_ to be together!” Lily cried out passionately.

Harry looked his daughter over and tried to decide what argument she might listen to. She had never had to deal with vicious teasing before, so she wouldn't understand that. “Lily...”

“ _Isn't that right, Sunshine? You and I are soulmates,”_ Lily hissed in a voice just dripping with adoration.

“ _Soulmates. Bound together forever,”_ Sunshine hissed back, winding herself around Lily's neck and smelling the girl with her tongue in a way that looked like a thousand tiny kisses.

Harry felt his jaw hanging somewhere near the floor. He stood there gaping for so long that birds may well have flown in and made a nest as Lily crooned to her new snake, except that Draco eventually grew so curious that he came to investigate.

“Problem?” Draco asked, smoothing a hand along Harry's arm until they were holding hands.

This prompted Harry to close his mouth. “Er... _Sunshine, how do you_ know _that you are meant to be with Lily?”_

“ _I can see it in her aura,”_ Sunshine replied.

“ _Just as I can see something in you that matches the feel of my magic,”_ Lily informed the snake, kissing her head.

“Oh...” Draco exhaled in understanding and a little twinge of horror. And – if he was honest with himself – no small amount of jealousy.

Harry cleared his throat and let out a piercing whistle that got everyone's attention. “Oi! I need to see all my kids immediately!”

Their mothers grumbled since this was the last shop and they just wanted to go home already, but they didn't say anything as their kids all gathered around Harry. The owner of the shop looked curious but tried to hide it. The rest of the customers were shooed a bit away by all the protective mothers, who felt that nosy busybodies ought to mind their own business.

“What's the matter, dad?” James asked, slipping his hand into Harry's free one.

“Just a quick question.” He cleared his throat, then switched to Parseltongue. “ _How many of you can understand what I'm saying?”_

“ _I can understand you,”_ Sunshine replied helpfully.

“ _Me too_ ,” Lily stated curiously.

“ _Me too_ ,” the rest of the kids echoed. “ _Why_?”

“Oh Merlin's wart covered back!” Pansy and Hermione swore in unison. Neither had ever once considered this possibility.

“Well this is unexpected,” Padma remarked with an expression like she had no idea what to do with this information.

“I think it's wonderful,” Luna purred dreamily.

“That's it! We're done shopping!” Harry announced abruptly. “Pack everything up and let me pay for it so we can go home! I need a drink!”

That night, while the adults were busy commiserating how very fast their kids were growing up with copious amounts of alcohol, the kids all took their new wands out into the backyard and dueled with basic spells – such as their oft practiced Aguamenti. They all agreed that finally having wands of their own was the best feeling ever.

 

***

 

The entire month until it was time for the kids to leave for Hogwarts passed in the blink of an eye. Because there were already so many of them going, Rolf volunteered to stay home with the younger kids. Hermione insisted on getting to King's Cross Station as early as possible in an attempt to avoid a large crowd, but Harry forced her to compromise by only arriving an hour early.

This turned out to be a good compromise as it gave the kids time to get their luggage settled on the Hogwarts Express and then come back out to say goodbye to their parents. Or rather chat about a million little things that suddenly seemed important until it was time to say goodbye.

Harry passed out what he thought would be enough pocket money. And then Draco rolled his eyes and passed out a bit more pocket money. After that, he took Scorpius, Albus, and James aside and whispered to them.

“I love all twelve of you equally, but the fact is that not all of you carry Malfoy blood, and Malfoys deserve the best of the best,” Draco advised them. “So I'm going to give you three the same allowance I had as a student. Don't tell any of the others unless you plan to share.”

“What do we need money for?” James asked in confusion. “We're going to be in school.”

“If you run out of supplies and need to order more, or if you turn out to be allergic to the bedding and need to buy brushed Egyptian cotton sheets or – well there are many things that might come up. Bribes perhaps. Treats for your owl and kneazles, for example,” Draco finished with a shrug.

“Why doesn't dad think we should have this big of an allowance?” Scorpius asked, smart enough to understand that Harry would have given the same amount to everyone if he thought they should have it.

“Your dad was raised as a poor muggle and doesn't understand the finer things in life. He doesn't understand that the heirs to the Malfoy fortune should expect the best,” Draco tried to explain.

“Wait,” Albus murmured, biting his lip in thought. “So I know our family is supposed to be rich, but we never act like a rich family. Just _how rich_ are we?”

Draco smirked and ruffled his hair. “That is an excellent question which I will answer when you are older. And while we may not act like the pureblooded snobs I grew up with and was raised to be, you might be shocked to know that most of the other children at Hogwarts don't receive pretty much everything they want just because they want it.”

“We usually don't want that much stuff!” Albus protested.

Draco smiled warmly. “That's true, and _that_ is thanks to your dad. He managed to teach you all that it's better to have a few treasured possessions than mounds of things you don't really need.”

“ _That's_ because our shared bedroom gets so overwhelmingly cluttered that we have to go through and get rid of things at least once a month if we want to be able to walk to our beds!” James pointed out pragmatically.

“It'll be the same in your dorms,” Draco warned, and then gave them all tight hugs.

It finally came time for the students to board the train, and that's when something a bit strange happened. As Pansy and Padma cried all over each other – and the rest of the women held hands in an effort to remain strong – Harry was busy looking around. Inside, he was an emotional wreck; losing twelve of his 15 kids – plus Teddy – in one go was enough to make him sob right along with Pansy, but he couldn't.

Not only were there a few discrete reporters watching their every move, but all of the older students stood by in an orderly line, waiting for the Potter kids to board the train. And that was the rather strange thing; the entire student body was staring at _Harry_ as if he was a ghost or a three headed Hydra.

Harry was used to being stared at, but this was a bit creepy. He couldn't figure out why they were all staring, until a little first year girl tugged on her older brother's sleeve and loudly whispered: “He's real. That's _really_ Harry Potter!”

And oh! Now it made so much sense because while he was always stared at in public, he was out so rarely and usually amongst adults that these kids probably just thought he was some made up bloke in a history book. He sighed, deciding to just ignore the stares like he always did.

“Bye kids! I love you!” He'd said this to each of them individually, but really, what else could he say in that situation?

Teddy was leading the rest onto the train, but they hadn't quite stepped foot onto it yet. As one, they all turned to Harry and waved. “Bye dad! We'll miss you!” Although Teddy said Harry's name. Harry was pleased to note that Teddy did not look like Harry at the moment. However, his hair _was_ an alarmingly vivid shade of pink that made Harry wonder if the other students at Hogwarts teased him or simply accepted him.

Then the children boarded the train, which prompted the rest of the students to board too. Which just left a few hundred parents trying not to cry on the platform. At the same time, they all tried to stare at Harry without being obvious because he was so very famous and they rather hoped he'd sign autographs.

With a sigh of relief, the _moment_ the Hogwarts Express was out of view, Harry Apparated home.

 

***

 

“First years this way!”

“Hiya Hagrid,” Neville greeted with a grin.

Since he had been the Herbology teacher for a few years, he had ridden the train with the students, despite having his floo directly connect to both the Leaky Cauldron _and_ Harry's house – where he lived with Hannah, coming home each night after classes were over. Hannah ran a pub, so she had late hours, which meant that Neville had time to grade homework and tests before she got home from the Leaky. This arrangement gave them a surprising amount of time together even though they both worked such demanding jobs.

“Hiya Neville!” Hagrid returned the greeting with an enormous grin. “Er, Professor. I keep forgetting!”

“That's just fine,” Neville assured him.

“Hey, Uncle Nev? Who's this?”

Neville turned to find all of the first years standing behind him. He grinned at them. “ _This_ is Professor Hagrid – possibly the most important person at Hogwarts! He is the keeper of the keys and grounds and teaches Care of Magical Creatures. He _also_ brings all the first years to Hogwarts so that none of you can get lost on the way.”

Hagrid was blushing and looked a bit teary eyed. “Aww Neville...”

“I've heard about you!” Rose called out with a grin. “Mum, Dad, and Daddy all talk about how you once had a baby dragon and how you owned a three headed dog named Fluffy!”

“Er...” Hagrid tilted his head curiously, in his mind, he was having a tiny bit of trouble wrapping his head around the words: Mum, Dad, and Daddy.

Neville chuckled softly. “She means Hermione, Ron, and Harry.”

“Er, right,” Hagrid stated. He had – of course – known about Harry having a lot of children, he just hadn't ever thought about it too closely. “Blimey! Is it that year already?!” He cried out in surprise as he realized that this was one of Harry's kids, which meant they were all at Hogwarts. And Merlin's palsy shaken hands! They all _looked_ like him too!

Seeing that Hagrid looked a bit shaken, Neville patted him sympathetically on the arm, and then grinned. “See you at the feast.”

Hagrid watched Neville walk away and counted out as twelve of the approximately 40 first year students called out after him: “See you later, Uncle Nev!” Aside from Remus, who actually called him dad, but this was said so quietly that no one really heard him.

“It's Professor now!” Neville shouted back at them with a loving smile.

Quickly, Hagrid gathered himself together and smiled at his charges. “This way! The sooner we get there, the sooner we can eat!”

 

***

 

Despite it traditionally being the Deputy's duty, Headmistress McGonagal had always enjoyed the sorting. Therefore, she continued it to this day. Maybe in a couple of years, she'd finally pass it on to her Deputy, but for now, she simply loved to think of the sorting as her way of greeting all new students personally.

As always, the list was alphabetical. Once all of the new students were before her, staring at her expectantly, she gave herself just one moment to mentally shudder in horror. One particular student was named James Sirius and another Remus – and worse! They were all descended from James Potter via Harry. _Oh the trouble they could cause!_

She took a deep breath and called out the first name on her list. Which just so happened to be: “Remus Abbott-Potter!”

He squeaked in dismay, not realizing that he'd be first, and then made his way to the Sorting Hat.

“Hufflepuff!” The Hat announced a few seconds later.

McGonagal sighed in relief. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all. That said, Remus had been named after Remus Lupin, who was father to Teddy Lupin, who had been sorted into Gryffindor last year and already cause his fair share of trouble. She suppressed a groan and called out the next name.

“Amelia Bones-Potter.”

She also went into: “Hufflepuff!”

McGonagal allowed herself the tiny hope that all 12 potters would be sorted into Hufflepuff and thus be far less trouble than anticipated. Quite a few names later, it was time for: “Hugo Granger-Potter.”

“Slytherin!” The Sorting Hat informed everyone. McGonagal raised a brow at that. A child of Harry and Hermione's was sorted into _Slytherin_?

The very next name was: “Rose Granger-Potter.” Who was sorted into: “Ravenclaw!” Which of course made her puff up in pride as she strutted to her new house table.

After another two names, it was time for: “Pandora Lovegood-Potter.” The girl looked a bit like her mother and a _lot_ like her father – with pale blonde hair. However, she had a habit of floating around like her mother. She was apparently a puzzle to the Hat as well, for he took a fairly long time mulling her over. Finally, he decided on: “Slytherin!”

Now McGonagal was getting rather worried. However, she kept her cool and pressed on. “Albus Malfoy-Potter.”

“Hufflepuff!” This one rather took the Headmistress aback. A child of Harry Potter and _Draco Malfoy_ who had been named after Albus Dumbledore... in _Hufflepuff_??? She almost wanted to be a fly on the wall when word reached home about this development.

She was also almost afraid to see where the next one would be sorted. “James Malfoy-Potter.” To her strange relief, he was sorted into Gryffindor.

There was one student with no relation to Harry next, but after him, it was time for: “Pearl Parkinson-Potter.” _What a mouthful!_ McGonagal thought.

The Sorting Hat took a long moment, and then seemed to giggle as he announced: “Gryffindor!” Once again, McGonagal felt herself strangely taken aback. _I'm dreaming... This is a bizarre dream in which the Sorting Hat decided to place everyone in the opposite houses..._

But she pushed away the sense or surrealism and continued on. “Indira Patil-Potter.” Who was sorted into Slytherin, while: “Sai Patil-Potter.” Was sorted into Gryffindor. McGonagal made a mental note to discretely ask which child belonged to which Patil twin, because these two looked like they could be twins as well.

Next was: “Scorpius Potter-Malfoy.” Who – like Albus – looked like a mini Draco Malfoy when you looked at him from one angle, and then a mini blond Harry Potter when you looked at him from another. It was still rather confusing to a woman who had watched their fathers bicker and fight their entire childhood.

“Ravenclaw!” This was not quite as surprising as Albus going into Hufflepuff, but it was still a bit surprising.

Several other names were called before the final Potter child had her turn. “Lily Weasley-Potter.” The Sorting Hat debated a long time on where to place her. She seemed like she was equally suited to all houses. Finally, she asked him to put her in Ravenclaw with her best friend (and sister) Rose. So, despite being confused that there was a Weasley who wasn't in Gryffindor, the Hat announced: “Ravenclaw!”

After that, McGonagal announced the mandatory beginning of term notices before permitting the feast to begin. As she ate, she contemplated the Potter kids very carefully. It was true that their parents all came from different houses, but honestly, she hadn't expected this arrangement at all. In her worst nightmares, all the kids were sorted into Gryffindor and terrorized her every waking moment. In her fantasies, they all went into Hufflepuff and behaved like perfect angels. In reality, they were exactly even among the houses, and sorted so surprisingly that she almost wanted to declare a resort!

If she knew anything at all, it's that she absolutely _could not_ expect anything when it came to the Potter kids. Taking a sip of her pumpkin juice – that she secretly spiked with just a hint of scotch – McGonagal wondered if she should write Harry a letter. The only real question was whether it it should be an apology or a baffled explanation.

This promised to be a strange year.

 

**Author's Note:**

> So, good news, I *do* have a chapter written after this one :-D


End file.
